


Did He Just Say Half-Breed???

by KarsKars



Series: Keith's A Half-Breed - Team POV's [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Canon Compliant, F/M, Galra Keith (Voltron), Galra reveal, M/M, POV Lance (Voltron), Post-Episode: s02e08 The Blade of Marmora, Space Dad Shiro (Voltron), mild klance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-20
Updated: 2019-03-21
Packaged: 2019-11-26 06:55:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18177326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KarsKars/pseuds/KarsKars
Summary: Blood pumping through his veins, hearing his heart beating in his ears, Lance sat there frozen while they waited. The castle prepared to fire in 5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1 … “Princess, We’re coming back! And we’re bringing someone you should meet!” Shiro’s voice rang through the room as relief washed over them all. “They’re all right!” Coran confirmed as the tightness left Lance’s chest. They were alright!!A retelling of the Galra reveal dreamworks denied us of but from Lance's point of view.Can be read as a stand alone piece or as part of the series. Each piece of the series contains bits the others don't.





	1. Waiting is stressful!

**Author's Note:**

> I found a bunch of really amazing fics covering Keith's heritage reveal but they were mostly from his POV and I wanted to explore what was going on in the heads of the others. This will be from Lance's perspective, and if it goes well maybe I'll post a retelling from each of the others as well.
> 
> This is my first fanfic so I apologize if it's a little rough around the edges! I have most of already written but am editing still so it shouldn't take too long for the followup chapters.

They waited in the castle for what felt like an eternity as the red and black paladins went to meet the leaders of this new mysterious group. They called themselves the Blade of Marmora and they were … well, they were Galra. Every one was on edge as this was uncharted territory! Never had the thought of forming an alliance with a group of Galra even crossed their minds let alone stand a chance of becoming a reality. And yet here they were, waiting helplessly in the castle as red flew through the dangerous path to the base. Time passed, and then more time passed. The paladins becoming restless as they waited. Communication with the others was not possible so they waited in silence, not knowing was going on inside. Finally the silence broke as Hunk stood, stretched, and announced he was hungry to no ones surprise. He left the control room, heading down to the kitchens for some food goo with Pidge on his heels mumbling something about her laptop. Lance just sat there, he wasn’t hungry or tired just … worried. There wasn’t anything they could do but that didn’t stop him from worrying. What if Allura was right? What if it really WAS a trap? There was no way the yellow, blue, or green lions could fly through there, they weren’t as fast or agile as the red lion. Since Shiro was with Keith on the base, there was no one to fly the black lion in either. Even if they could have made it, the path was closed for at lease 5 more vargas. The red and black paladins were on their own.  
  
Hunk and Pidge returned with some extra bowls of food goo for Coran, Allura, and Lance which they ate having not realized how hungry each of them actually were until the spoons reached their mouths. Within seconds Lance had polished off his bowl and was licking the spoon clean. Hunk cleared the bowls and went to his chair, pulling up his screen. Thats when it happened, the red lion started attacking the base. At first none of them knew what was going on, but with in seconds Allura was calling out orders to Coran as he tried desperately to establish a connection to Keith and Shiro, attempting to get an answer for what was happening. Silence. Allura demanded they attack and the team fell to their positions, ready to strike the moment the path was clear. Blood pumping through his veins, hearing his heart beating in his ears, Lance sat there frozen while they waited. The castle prepared to fire in 5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1 … “Princess, We’re coming back! And we’re bringing someone you should meet!” Shiro’s voice rang through the room as relief washed over them all. “They’re all right!” Coran confirmed as the tightness left Lance’s chest. _They were alright!!_  
  
It took another verga before red landed in the hangar. The 3 remaining Paladins and the 2 Alteans were there waiting for them when the mouth opened, releasing the 3 passengers. The large Galra leader stepped out of the lion first, followed by Shiro, with Keith exiting last. The lion closed its mouth and sat down as the Blade introduced himself to Allura, bowing and retracting his mask. Allura was usually so warm, open, and reassuring to every being they met, but this was a different side of her. She was cold and distant, Kolivan, as he had introduced himself, didn’t seem to notice. Lance couldn’t blame her, she had lost everything to the Galra, the fact that she had even agreed to work with the Blades in the first place had surprised him. Although, it shouldn’t have, he thought to himself. Allura was always looking for allies, and she was always looking for the best in people. He thought about how she was so composed and realized that was a major part of why he was taken by her, she was strong and Lance liked strong. He was drawn to it, respected it, admired it, and found himself drawn to her, as well as another who was also strong. He looked behind Shiro to see Keith staring at the ground. He looked like he was lost in his thoughts, what happened in there?  
  
Shiro spoke some words, Kolivan replied intensely, but Lance didn’t hear them. He was staring at Keith, watching his eyes glaze as the red paladin slowly swayed, leaning to rest his hand against Red’s paw. It was then that Lance realized how beat up he looked. Not just tired from two days on the base, but EXHAUSTED. Keith looked like he’d been through hell, his hair tangled in every direction, cuts and bruises on his face, and a small trickle of blood running down his armor. _WAIT BLOOD???_  “You’re bleeding! Keith are you ok? What happed in there??” Lance asked, unable to hide the urgency in his voice. Everyone turned to look at Keith, concern washing their faces, but Keith looked up to glare at Lance. Daggers flying from his violet eyes right into Lance’s. “Nothing! I’m fine.” Keith practically growled through clenched teeth. Lance didn’t believe him. Shiro stepped in telling Coran to take Keith to the medbay for healing pod, as Keith protested, insisting he was fine.  
  
“Nonsense, the trials require adequate recovery, especially for a half-breed” Kolivan chastised him. Keith’s violet eyes widened until they looked like big purple dinner plates, and his face lost all colour as he stood rigid as a board, still leaning against Red’s paw for support. You could have heard a pin drop, the only sound in the hangar was the slight ping with each drop of blood hitting the metal floor. Keith looked like he was going to pass out, Shiro stared at Kolivan in shock, who didn’t seem to realize he had over stepped. Hunk, Pidge, and Coran all just stared at Keith with jaws on the floor, and Lance’s head was whirling! _Did he just say half-breed???_  No way he had heard that right! Keith was human, he was from Earth and went to the Galaxy Garrison with Lance, they were rivals for crying out loud! This must be a mistake. He looked over at Allura, expecting to see the same look of shock and confusion that everyone else was wearing, but instead was met with anger, fear, and a touch of hate. Shit.  
  
“Ok woah woah woah, hold your horses! Can someone please explain what the quiznak just happened??” Lance managed to squeeze out the words, even though he realized he wasn’t breathing. Unexpectedly, Allura was the one to answer “Yes! Explain this immediately!” she demanded.  
  
“Let’s all move to the lounge and I will tell you what happened on the base. Kolivan, I think this needs to be a private discussion. Please go back to the Blades, we will continue tomorrow.” Shiro turned and continued “Coran, can you take Keith to a pod? Keith, I don’t want to hear it! Just go with him, you need to rest and heal.” stopping the protest before it fully escaped Keith’s lips. Kolivan walked to edge of the hangar where a Galra pod was waiting, it must have followed the red lion so that it could return Kolivan after the meeting. The three paladins turned to Shiro, who had a very pained look on his face, and all three decided it best to not say anything, turning instead to head to the lounge. Allura stared at Shiro as well, except she didn’t follow the paladins, she stayed behind and turned her icy glare to Keith as he followed Coran down the other hall.


	2. The Trials

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Suit yourself.” Taking a deep breath and a moment to center himself, Shiro began his story. “When we arrived at the base we were brought in to face Kolivan. Keith had brought his dagger with him and ..”
> 
> “He did what?!” Shouted Pidge “you were told to come unarmed! Why would he do something so stupid?!”
> 
> “Please! Let me finish.” Shiro gave the room a stern look, warning the others not to interrupt before continuing “as I said, Keith had brought his dagger along."
> 
>  
> 
> ** ... Shiro shares the events of the trials with the team, and Keith comes out of the pod.**  
> _________________________

In the lounge it was quiet. No one was speaking when Coran returned. He had Keith’s blood on his shirt as he carried the red paladin armour in his arms. “He should only need to be in there for less than a varga.” The feeble words echoed around the still room. “Luckily his injury isn’t too serious, but he’s in pretty rough shape. I’m surprised he was able to keep his composure as long as he did.”  
  
“He’s a tough kid” Shiro said very matter-of-factly. He waited for Coran to cleanup and ushered him to sit with the paladins on the couch.  
  
Just then Allura entered the lounge and noticed the blood staining Coran’s clothes. Her face reddened with anger spitting out her frustration as she yelled “Coran! Clean that Galra’s blood off your clothing.”  
  
Lance was completely taken aback! _That Galra?_ no! Keith! That was Keith’s blood. The red paladin of Voltron, his rival, their teammate, but most importantly he was their friend. After everything they had been through, how could Allura refer to him like that? “KEITH!” Lance yelled right back at her startling everyone in the room as their eyes fell on him. He suddenly felt his cheeks go red with embarrassment - no this was anger! He decided to embrace it, after all Keith wasn’t here to defend himself. “That Galra” he repeated sarcastically “is Keith!” And out of the corner of his eye he caught Shiro beaming at him. Defeated, Allura turned her head from his gaze and looked down. She furrowed her brow but said nothing.  
  
“Have a seat Allura!” Shiro said gently as he turned to look at the princess.  
  
“Do not tell me what to do on my own ship. I will stand thank you very much.”  
  
“Suit yourself.” Taking a deep breath and a moment to center himself, Shiro began his story. “When we arrived at the base we were brought in to face Kolivan. Keith had brought his dagger with him and ..”  
  
“He did what?!” Shouted Pidge “you were told to come unarmed! Why would he do something so stupid?!”  
  
“Please! Let me finish.” Shiro gave the room a stern look, warning the others not to interrupt before continuing “as I said, Keith had brought his dagger along. One of the Blades pinned him down and took it from him while Kolivan questioned where he’d gotten it. Keith told them he had it all his life and the reason he brought in along was to ask where it came from and what it meant. He mentioned Ulaz’s sword having the same symbol on it and figured The Blades could give him answers. Instead they called off the alliance and requested that we leave..”  
  
The 3 paladins gasped at the revelation that Keith had almost cost them the alliance but Shiro pressed on “Keith, stubborn as always, insisted that he wasn’t going anywhere without the knife. And willingly agreed to undergo the Trials of Marmora to gain the information. It wasn’t until he was in the arena, fighting for his life against multiple Blades that I knew how big of a mistake it was to let him go through with it. I tried to stop it but couldn’t. The fighting went on for almost 30 vargas before Keith passed their test only to collapse, pass out, and have to undergo a mental test as well. It was after about 5 Vargas that red started to react to the severe stress on Keith’s mind and began attacking the base. We rushed in as he was waking up and they demanded the knife back. I assumed he would refuse so I jumped into action. But Keith surprised me, he conceded, offering them the knife saying he didn’t need to know where it came from, that working together to defeat Zarkon was more important.” Shiro paused, looking down. He took a moment to collect himself, clearly the events on the base had taken their toll on him too.  
  
Lance fidgeted his hands, the suspension was killing him. How did Keith passing some test mean he is galra? It didn’t make sense.  
  
“So what happened?” Prompted Hunk, waiting nervously for the rest of the story. Lance noticed he looked a little pale.  
  
Shiro breathed again and sighed before continuing “After he said that, the knife ... it .. well it glowed. Then it grew into a sword with a glowing purple line down the side, similar to the one Ulaz had but different.  Kolivan said the only way to awaken the blade is to have Galra blood. Meaning ...”  
  
“Meaning I’m part Galra” Keith finished for him. Everyone’s head whipped around to find Keith leaning in the doorway, arms crossed with his foot propped up against the frame. No one had even heard him come in.  
  
“Puta Madre!!” Lance exhaled as he jumped up. Pidge and Hunk had both cursed slightly as well and Shiro was staring at Keith in shock. Coran’s face gave away his surprise but he didn’t flinch. While Allura just continued to stare at the floor, she hadn’t made eye contact with Shiro and Lance could tell she definitely wasn’t going to make eye contact with Keith.  
  
Keith pushed off from the frame and stood, arms crossed, in the open doorway. He was staring down at his feet furrowing his brow as he clearly tried to form the words to say. But Shiro beat him to it. In his caring space dad voice he asked “Keith, how are you feeing?”, the shock fading from his face to reveal genuine concern for the boy. Lance could see Keith’s shoulders relax, just a little, at the lack of hostility in Shiro’s tone.  
  
“Like I said, I’m fine.” He shrugged and shifted his weight to his other leg. Lance gave Keith a good stare, he did look better and his arm seemed to be healed up, but he still looked pretty tired. They made eye contact for a moment and Lance could see the pain in his eyes, he was really struggling with this. The fear in those violet eyes hit him like a brick wall. A beautiful, stupid, violet wall. _Damn!_ Keith turned his head to look around the room and Lance followed suit, taking in the expressions of the others. He most worried about Pidge, she had lost her dad and brother to the Galra, and you could see on Keith’s face that he was avoiding looking at her directly. Hunk was a softie, he would accept Keith without hesitation Lance was sure of it, and Shiro clearly loved his little brother. Which left only the two Alteans. Allura had made her feelings well known - she was not happy, but Coran had been uncharacteristically quiet. His face had shifted to neutral as he stared at Keith, their eyes meeting. After what was most likely only a few ticks but felt like a full varga, Coran got up from the couch and moved towards Keith who flinched and took a tentative step back.  
  
“Keith … I … I’m glad you’re ok. You’ve been fighting for almost 2 days and haven’t slept or eaten, perhaps you should get some rest.” Coran didn’t sound like his usual self, this was a side of him Lance had never seen before. The Altean had closed the gap between himself and the boy as he spoke and now rested his hand on Keith’s shoulder. With his back turned to the room, Lance couldn’t see his face but could hear the kind tone in his voice and see Keith relax a little more. With each person who accepted him he seemed to release some of the tension in his shoulders and back. First Shiro, and now Coran.  
  
Keith looked up and his eyes met Lance. They were extremely large and glossy, like he was on the verge of breaking. Lance had already decided that he wasn’t going to let this get in the way of their friendship when he came to Keith’s defence against Allura. He stared right back into those violet eyes and smiled, trying to send as much warmth and reassurance through them as possible. It must have worked cause he thought he caught a slight blush on Keith’s cheeks as he turned his head back to the floor.  
  
“Thanks but I’m not tired … “ his voice trailed off and he looked nauseous for a second and scanned the room before turning on his heel and flying out the door.


	3. Emotions Can Be Scary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Maybe he just needs some time to think?” Hunk said, concern hanging on his words.
> 
> “Keith should not be alone” Shiro’s retort was matter-of-fact but gentle “He’s spent far too much of his life alone, he needs our support. He needs us to show him that we still care, that he’s still welcome here”
> 
> “I’m not so sure he is” Allura’s quiet but cold voice drew rapid silence.  
> ____________________

The door slid shut as Keith’s figure vanished. A moment ago he had starting to relax and now he was taking off? Lance struggled to grasp the abrupt change while staring at the closed door. If his head was still swirling he could only imagine what must be going through Keith’s. Shiro stood up and made a move to go after him but Hunk stopped him.  
  
“Maybe he just needs some time to think?” Hunk said, concern hanging on his words.  
  
“Keith should not be alone” Shiro’s retort was matter-of-fact but gentle “He’s spent far too much of his life alone, he needs our support. He needs us to show him that we still care, that he’s still welcome here”  
  
“I’m not so sure he is” Allura’s quiet but cold voice drew rapid silence. Lance’s breath caught in his chest as he turned to look at the princess. He had no words, normally Lance had a constant stream of thoughts but right now his mind was frozen. He couldn’t even process what had just been said.  
  
“EXCUSE ME??” Pidge had jumped up on the couch to stare Allura in the eyes. She was still only coming up to the Altean’s shoulders but the tiny girl was vibrating with rage. “Keith is a part of this team! He is one of us and the ONLY one who can fly the red lion! He has been with us for every fight, every training session, every STUPID Altean mind melding exercise, he has saved all of our asses and shown you nothing but loyalty. HOW DARE YOU TREAT HIM LIKE SOME SORT OF MONSTER!!!” She was seething. Lance could feel the anger flowing off her, Hunk was terrified and shrank away from her shaking fists. Even though she was tiny she was a force to be reckoned with and Allura seemed genuinely startled. Instead of responding she held Pidge’s glare before huffing then turned to leave.  
  
A long stream of curses was flowing from Pidge’s lips and Shiro was trying to calm her down, she was like a cat that had been thrown in a bathtub, tiny but fiery and sooo pissed. No one tried to stop Allura though, they all knew she wasn’t going after Keith. Lance debated following her, but thought better of it, she probably did need to be alone but Keith certainly didn’t. He stood up and took a quick look at the chaos that was unfolding around him. Hunk hiding in a corner of the couch watching Pidge flail her arms rapidly as both Shiro and Coran tried and failed to get her to calm down. If it wasn’t such an emotional and serious moment it would have been funny. Lance turned to leave but heard his name and stopped, looking back to see everyone staring at him with the frenzy having paused.  
  
“Lance? You’re leaving too?” Shiro sounded like he had just been punched in the gut. Lance knew that Shiro had picked up on his support and that his leaving must have felt like a major let down.  
  
“Ya, someone needs to go talk to him. He already knows you support him but I think he needs to hear it from one of us.” Lance watched as Shiro’s face perked into a proud smile, nodding once then turning back to Pidge who was still pacing on the couch but no longer cursing or yelling. And with that Lance left the room. Standing in the hall with the door shut behind him he realized he had no idea where Keith had gone. _Shit_. Deciding to start with the usual hangouts he went for Keith’s room first; empty. He then headed to the training deck; empty. Next he tried the kitchen; empty. Starting to panic he wandered the halls of the castle, passing by the lounge again only to hear the yelling had resumed - still Pidge. Lance caught himself chuckling at the image of Pidge yelling on the couch then suddenly stopped as he noticed Allura leaning against a wall. Had she been there this whole time? How had he not noticed her when he left the room? Walking over he placed a hand on her shoulder. “Allura?” he said softly with hesitation.  
  
Allura didn’t respond, she just turned to look at him and threw herself in his arms. _Ok now I’m REALLY confused!_   Lance thought to himself as a blush spread across his cheeks. He could feel his shoulder become slightly damp as she quickly broke the embrace and backed up. Apologizing and wiping her eyes. Any anger Lance had for her vanished immediately. She was hurting. “Allura, are you ok?” he prodded gently.  
  
“I am.” she sniffed, looking up with a small smile barely moving the corner of her lips. “They took everything from me. My father, my home, my people, my planet. Everything Lance.” She paused and Lance knew better than to interrupt her. Letting her finish her train of thought he just held his hand on her shoulder and waited for her to be ready. “I trusted him, I trusted him with one of the lions my father built. With the red lion. The lion my father flew.” She shook her head as she looked down. Pain and loss clear on her face. “I’ve lost everything, everyone I ever cared about. They took them away from me and now I find out one of them was hiding under my nose this whole time?” her hurt was turning back into anger as she clenched her jaw and continued “Those sneaky Galra, I should have known, I should have been able to see it. The aggressive personality, the hotheadedness, the distance he kept from everyone else.” She was starting to shake, Lance could feel her slipping away. The brief moment of vulnerability was gone and she closing him out. “He knew. I know he knew. When we were trying to figure out how Zarkon was tracking us he knew then already and lied. He LIED right to our faces, making up some story about imprinting. That lying Galra knew and he looked us in the eyes everyday, talking about how we were going to take out Zarkon, talking about ending the war. All that time he knew! We can’t trust him Lance, we can’t ever trust a GALRA!”  
  
Her words caught Lance by surprise, she was right. He must have known. Why else would he assume it was him Zarkon had been tracking, why else would he try to leave the group in a pod. But Keith would never hurt them, he their friend - wasn’t he? Lance felt the conflict rising in his chest, his stomach turning as he tossed between feelings of betrayal and sympathy. “He couldn’t have known.” The words escaped his mouth before he even realized he said them. Allura glanced up at him, making contact with his eyes and drawing a puzzled face. He decided to elaborate “Keith doesn’t trust anyone, not really. Except Shiro, and he clearly didn’t tell him. If Shiro didn’t know then Keith didn’t know.” He watched the thoughts flutter across her face as she processed what he was saying. Unfortunately it appeared to not make much difference as she settle back on angry, furrowing her brows and shaking her head. “Allura, he may have suspected something but I’m positive he didn’t know for sure. He would have told us.”  
  
“Do you think so Lance?” She sounded indignant “Do you really think he would have told us? Did you not see the look of horror on his face when Kolivan let it slip? No, I don’t believe he would have said a thing.” and with that the conversation was over. She stepped back, dropping Lances hand to his side as she turned and stormed off down the hall. He wanted to follow her but like the last time, he realized it wasn’t a good idea. She was done sharing for now. Any affection she had for Keith was gone, she no longer cared for him.


	4. The Red Paladin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance didn’t even think about it, he just kept running up to her and stopped directly below the red lion’s head.
> 
> “Keith?? You in there buddy?” He yelled up - no reply. Ok he was going to have to coax him out.  
> ___________________

Lance stared at the end of the hall for quite awhile, even after Allura was long gone. He couldn’t quite bring himself to admit what he felt to be true. Allura now hated Keith. She didn’t trust him or even want him as part of Voltron any more. What was this going to mean for the team? How were they supposed to take out Zarkon if they couldn’t even be around each other. He didn’t realize how long he was lost in thought until the lounge door hissed open and Shiro called his name, confused. Lance jolted back to reality and turned to face the group. “This is bad” was all he could muster.  
  
Shiro seemed to be the first one to piece together what happened, noticing that Lance was still outside the lounge and staring off in the direction Allura had turned when she left the room. He approached the blue paladin and placed both hands on either shoulder. “Allura just needs time, she’ll come around” his voice sounded reassuring but Lance could see in his eyes that he didn’t wholly believe it himself.  
  
“I’m not so sure” he replied sounding defeated. “You didn’t see her face. What she said to me a moment ago …. I don’t think she’s ever going to be ok with this.” The other paladins just hung their heads and stared quietly at Lance.  
  
The hall was silent for a while until Hunk spoke “Did you find … Keith?” He had hesitated to say his name. Maybe Hunk wasn’t as ok with it as Lance had thought he would be. Lance was starting to think he was as bad at reading people as Keith was. After all, he had guessed wrong for Pidge’s reaction too. _Or maybe we just aren’t as close of a team as we think we are. After all one of us turned out to be part Galra - that’s a pretty big thing to miss!_ What was going on?? They were a family, and Keith needed them he couldn’t let doubt creep into his mind.  
  
Lance took a deep breath and said “I’m going to look for him again.”  
  
“Again?” Pidge looked at him confused  
  
“Ya, I went looking but couldn’t find him anywhere so I came back this way and found Allura.” Lance looked down the hall where she had walked off, “I still need to find Keith though. Now I’m getting worried about him.” He didn’t wait for anyone to object or offer to join him, he just turned and went down the hall after Allura since he had already checked the other way. He caught a little bit of Shiro telling the others to get some sleep before he was too far away to hear any more. He was exhausted, mentally wiped but he needed to find Keith. He needed to assure his friend that they still loved him. But he was too tired to pay attention to where he was going and had to take a moment to get his bearings when he came face to face with the door to the red lion’s hangar. _Of course!_   Where else would Keith go, of course he was with Red. Opening the door Lance walked into the hangar, the pool of blood had been smeared by the lions paw. She had moved. _He was here!_ Without thinking Lance ran towards the lion who’s eyes lit up and she growled protectively. Lance didn’t even think about it, he just kept running up to her and stopped directly below the red lion’s head.  
  
“Keith?? You in there buddy?” He yelled up - no reply. Ok he was going to have to coax him out. He thought for a moment before the thoughts jumped into his head and started shouting them at the lion before they had even finished forming, his words dripping with sarcasm. “Ok mullet you just stay in there. Hide in your kitty instead of talking to us like a normal person. Typical lone wolf, emo boy Keith!” The moment the words left his mouth he knew he took it too far, Keith was terrible at picking up sarcasm. The lion opened and a seriously pissed off Keith was standing there fuming.  
  
“WHAT. THE. FUCK. LANCE!” It wasn’t so much of a yell as it was a growl. An actual growl. Lance looked up at him and thought for a brief moment he saw the whites of his eyes flicker yellow. As Keith stood in the mouth of lion just seething, anger and rage sizzling around him. Lance took the opportunity to jump inside. He ran up the mouth of the lion and tackled Keith, sending them both flying backwards into the head of the beast. The lion seemed to know what he was doing, she seemed to understand that he was trying to help and she closed her mouth - trapping them both inside. Keith screamed in a blinding rage and threw Lance across the cockpit. _Damn he is stronger than I thought._ Lance pulled himself to his feet and laughed when he caught his breath. Why was he laughing?? He didn’t even know. He just couldn’t help it. The laughter spilled from him in fits as he lost all control and collapsed onto the metal floor.  
  
This had the effect of making Keith freeze. He clearly didn’t know what was going on, Keith never really seemed to ‘get’ other peoples emotions and was clearly baffled by the dramatic switch. He just stood there, and glared at Lance as he tried to piece together what had just happened. Lance managed calm down and stop laughing long enough to stand and then sputter again as he saw Keith's bewildered expression. Keith punched him in the shoulder, really hard and yelled at him to knock it off, which just made Lance break into another fit of laughter. Exasperated, Keith threw his hands in the air and demanded Red eject the ‘pain in the ass’. But the red lion just sat there, clearly more aware of what Keith needed than he was. And what he needed was to face his emotions. He needed Lance. He needed to be told that the team still cared, that they were all here for him and that he was their family whether he liked it or not. Lance tried to regain his composure so he could say all this to Keith, but every time he looked at the boy’s expression he couldn’t stop the giggles that escaped.  
  
Keith returned to pleading with Red to kick him out. “Come on Red! Please, just make him go! He’s driving me crazy.” But Red just sat there. Finally Keith gave up, and slumped down to the metal floor, utterly defeated. The look on his face killed any laughter Lance may have still had. He looked - empty. This was not going well. He may have inadvertently     caused more damage. _Well done Lance!_  
  
“Keith?” he feebly asked. “Are you ok man?” the red paladin looked up at him, tears filling his violet eyes.  
  
“no.” and with that Keith broke. It was clear that he had been holding a lot back and the dam just gave way. Two days of nonstop combat, a mental test that nearly killed him, a deep gash on his shoulder causing blood loss, no sleep, no food, the emotional freight train of finding out his heritage, the looks on the teams faces when they had found out - Lance could see it in his eyes, he couldn’t take anymore. Keith dropped his head in his knees as tears flowed down his cheeks. Lance collapsed in front of him, pulling the red paladin into a tight hug. Keith wasn’t fighting it, he didn’t protest or squirm, or say anything. He just gave in.


	5. Comfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Uh, sorry” was all he choked out as he sniffled a little then frowned at Lance's shirt.
> 
> Lance turned to look at his shoulder and decided it was the perfect opportunity to break the tension “DUDE! You got snot all over my shirt!” He let out a laugh and looked up in time to catch Keith actually smile. 
> 
> “Thanks.” He said quietly.  
> _________________

Lance didn’t move. He just sat there, holding his friend while he shattered. Eventually Keith picked up the pieces and pushed himself back, his face as red as his lion.

“Uh, sorry” was all he choked out as he sniffled a little then frowned at Lance's shirt.

Lance turned to look at his shoulder and decided it was the perfect opportunity to break the tension “DUDE! You got snot all over my shirt!” He let out a laugh and looked up in time to catch Keith actually smile.

“Thanks.” He said quietly.

“For being your tissue? So gross!”

“Shut up dumbass. I’m trying to be serious” he stared straight into Lance’s soul, his violet eyes rimmed with red. “Thanks … for being here. I … uh … guess I needed that.”

“Wow actual emotions and genuine gratitude? Keith, your human side is showing” Lance joked as he gave his friend a lighthearted shove.

Keith fell backwards onto the floor of the lion and let out a small chuckle. “Ya I guess it is.” He didn’t get up, just stayed in that position, leaning back half propped up on his right arm and twisted slightly to look at Lance as he spoke. Lance could feel the flush on his cheeks and got up to turn away before Keith noticed. Offering his hand to help Keith up, they walked out of the red lion together and started for the door. Keith stopped, reaching out he grabbed Lance's arm just below the elbow and pulled him back. Turning, Lance saw Keith’s eyes staring down at the floor with a slightly worried expression. Keith opened his mouth as if to say something, but closed it again.

Saving him from himself Lance spoke for him “It’s ok. You don’t have to worry about everyone else, they're fine.” With a pang he remembered his conversation with Allura but didn’t pull his expression fast enough. Keith saw it. The fear flashing over his eyes as he realized not everyone was accepting. Trying to salvage this new confidence he had given Keith, Lance spoke up “Allura needs some time, she’ll come around” he found himself quoting Shiro, but that was good - Shiro always knew what to say to Keith. It seemed to work, he had calmed down a little and let go of Lances arm, but was still looking down.

“What about the others? Pidge?” Keith winced when he said her name and Lance knew he was worried about her reaction.

“Oh buddy! The only one who has to worry about Pidge is Allura! You missed it, Hunk was terrified and it took both Shiro and Coran to calm her back down. I didn’t even know half those curse words myself - I learned a few things that will come in handy during our next sparring match mullet.” Lance was chuckling as the images of Pidge on the couch came flashing back. He looked over at Keith who was grinning, clearing picturing the little ball of fury that had been the green paladin.

As they walked down the hallway, heading back to their respective rooms, Keith stopped him again. "Lance? ... " he seemed to lose his composure yet again, but Lance just waited patiently. "... this may sound totally out of nowhere - but I'm starving!"

What? That can't be what he was going to say! Lance stared back at Keith, confused but then decided to just humour him. "Ok, to the kitchens!" he shouted as a battle cry, catching the groan and not-so-subtle eye roll from beside him.

The two paladins walked in silence the rest of the way but it wasn't awkward - more like peaceful. It was late and none of them had slept in two days, the others were all exhausted and sound asleep in their beds. The quiet halls acting as an echo chamber for their foot steps reflecting them back in a rhythmic beat. As they approached the kitchen they saw the light on and Keith froze. _Maldito Sea! Not again!_ Lance looked over his shoulder to Keith, but kept walking. Knowing it was Allura he didn't want to run into, Lance decided to go ahead and take a look. His hunch payed off and Hunk's large frame stood bent over a baking sheet.

"Hey Hunk!" He greeted loud enough for his shadow to hear. Venturing an over the shoulder glance, he saw Keith start to move forward. Hunk was lining up some freshly baked muffins on the counter. Lance assumed they were muffins, they were muffin shaped but they were green.

"Baking calms me down" Hunk explained "It just sucks that I cant make the things I loved most back home ya know? I'd kill for some banana bread!" He put the tray down and turned back to Lance "did you find him?"

Lance heard the faint footsteps come to a halt just outside the door at the sound of Hunk's question. Deciding to give Keith the option to walk away if he truly didn't to deal with this, he answered Hunk "Ya, he was in his lion"

"Makes sense, that's probably the one place he feels most at home here. Have you seen his room? We went to check on him after a while but you guys weren't back yet. It's so empty in there." Hunk seemed to shiver, grabbing one of the green alien muffins and taste testing it. "Did he stay in his lion or go back to his room?" The words were hard to decipher through the mouth full of muffin, but Lance got what he was saying.

"I'm right here" Keith said walking into the kitchen. Lance had a suspicion that he would be listening and didn't jump too high this time, but Hunk started choking on his space muffin. "You're supposed to chew your food Hunk" Keith mused as he picked up one of the muffins. Hunk was too busy pounding his chest and hacking up the last bits of jellied green goo to notice Keith's joke. Taking a bite of the muffin Keith smiled to himself and looked up to see Lance grinning at him like an idiot. He couldn't help it, Keith had managed to completely let his guard down, something Lance had never seen before. Never in all their time at the Garrison, or as a part of Voltron had Keith ever cracked a joke that wasn't just a thinly veiled criticisms or a cleverly biting line of sarcasm. This was more playful, he was really relaxed. He leaned against the counter, resting on his elbow as he ate the green muffin. "This is way better than food goo" he chimed as he polished off the rest of it, reaching over to grab another.

Hunk was catching his breath, heaving slightly as he tried to regain his composure. Lance could see the alarm in his eyes, he had not been expecting that at all. Most likely, Hunk had thought the hallway was empty, that Lance had come down to the kitchen alone. Keith walked over and passed Hunk a new muffin, which he took as he stared wide eyed back at him. For a moment the red and yellow paladins just stared at each other, both waiting for the other to be the first to say something. After a few ticks Keith broke the silence "I'm going to bed." Very abruptly he turned on his heel and walked out the door, but not before grabbing a third muffin to take along.

Lance looked at the weird green muffins. Keith seemed to really like them so they must be better than they look. Picking one up he broke a piece off and gave it a try. "Puaj!! ughhhhh awful!" Lance spit it out immediately. How did Keith like this, it was nasty. Hunk had managed to pull himself together and was eating the muffin Keith had handed him. "Hunk, man normally you work some serious magic in here but these are terrible. What's in them?"

"I don't even know!" he laughed. "I just grabbed things I thought would work together. I was too tired to really care and just wanted a muffin. They aren't that bad though." He finished the rest of the muffin as Lance was still trying to brush the taste off his tongue.


	6. Breakfast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith just shrugged “Breakfast in 10 dobashes” as he left the room. He was clearly in a much better mood today. Lance took his time getting ready, after almost half a varga he sauntered into the lounge. Keith and Shiro were sitting on the left with Pidge and hunk close by.  
> ___________________

_Lance wrapped his hands in thick hair and pulled as the kisses landed on his neck. His eyes were tightly shut but he forced them open to see white hair lacing through his tanned fingers. The heat of the sun and the fresh ocean air on his face, he rolled in the sand with Allura. Looking into her eyes as they twinkled in the sunlight. He leaned in to kiss her as he saw them change, they morphed from their multi tone blue to a deep violet as the hair in his fingers turned black. Keith? ‘Don’t look at me like that unless you want me to bite your lip clean off’_ the seductive growl had been more than Lance could handle. He woke up sweating. Maybe their ‘bonding moment’ in the red lion had meant more to him than he thought. The knock on the door was just a courtesy as it hissed open immediately revealing Keith as he walked in the room.

Keith’s eyes met Lance’s as he caught the intruding flush across his cheeks. “What were you dreaming about?” he mused, a knowing grin hanging on the corner of his mouth. Oh sure, Lance thought, this he picks up on! Not sarcasm or jokes or ANYTHING else, but this he manages to notice! _Perfecto!_

“Home” he answered honestly, albeit leaving out a few details. “I was on Varadero Beach, it felt so real”

“Oh.” Keith looked disappointed “guessed that wrong .. again” he seemed to take a minute to think about it then looked back at Lance who was still trying to regain his composure from being startled awake only to see the subject of dream walking into his room. A blush hit him hard as Keith narrowed his violet eyes. “… or maybe I didn’t” he chuckled. _Carajo!_

“Ok what do you want?” Now it was his turn to be annoyed. He was about to throw off the blankets and get up to stand in Keith’s stupid face but thought better of it. Opting instead to stay with the blankets securely in place.

Keith just shrugged “Breakfast in 10 dobashes” as he left the room. He was clearly in a much better mood today. Lance took his time getting ready, after almost half a varga he sauntered into the lounge. Keith and Shiro were sitting on the left with Pidge and hunk close by. Coran sat across from them, but Allura was nowhere to be seen. He looked over everyone’s faces and landed on Keith’s, the good mood was gone. Sitting beside Shiro with an empty look on his face. He didn’t look upset, or sad, or anything really - just void. Lance felt a pang in his chest as he understood. Allura HAD been there but clearly left when Keith arrived. Once again trying to lighten the mood Lance grabbed a bowl and plopped down beside Keith. There definitely wasn’t enough room for him so he sat with one cheek on the edge of the couch and one cheek on Keith’s leg causing the red paladin to squirm, blush, and push Lance to the floor.

“Dude! What are you doing” Keith was clearly taken aback by what had just happened. “Half the couch is empty why do you have to sit right on top of me? Get off man”

Picking himself off the floor and laughing Lance turned to face Keith “and gooooood morning to you too!” with a sly smile he added “you’re in my spot”

“Your spot? There are no ‘spots’ just go sit somewhere else.”

“Nope, that’s my spot and I’m sitting there whether you move or not mullet boy” ahhh the status quo.

“Lance just go sit by Coran” Shiro’s exasperated tone was evident.

“Ughhh I’m so done with this! If you want it that bad YOU CAN HAVE IT!” Keith threw his arms in the air and got up, walking over to lean against the wall.

With a victorious smile Lance claimed his seat, and Shiro glowered at him.

“Guess everything is back to normal then eh!” Chimed Coran as he ate the last bite of his green muffin. Lance saw the realization dawn on Shiro’s face as he put it together, passing Lance a sly grin. Keith huffed in the background against the wall but didn’t say anything.

Not much happened as they finished off the rest of their breakfasts, although Lance did take note that only Keith, Hunk, and Coran seemed to enjoy the muffins. Hunk liked everything, but Keith was fairly picky so maybe it was some alien flavour that he liked? Deciding it didn’t matter, he threw Pidge’s half eaten muffin backwards hitting his target square in the side of the head.

“WHAT THE HELL LANCE!” screamed Keith from behind him.

“HEY! That’s ‘what the hell SHARPSHOOTER’ to you mullet!” Lance chuckled as his face collided with the bowl of food goo in his lap. Keith was already on top of him pulling him off the couch and smashing a terrible green space muffin into his mouth.

The door opened with a hiss as Allura and two members of the Blade of Marmora entered the room. Shiro, Pidge, Hunk, and Coran all stood but Lance and Keith were tangled in a mess of muffin, food goo, and limbs on the floor. Panting Keith jumped to his feet and gave Lance a slight kick to the ribs as he stared at their Galra allies, food goo matted in his hair. It was painfully clear that Keith had been winning their little skirmish but Lance never missed the opportunity to tease him. “Phew good thing your buddies got here to save you from getting your ass kicked mullet”

“We are not the half-breed’s ‘buddies’. How dare you address us so casually.” The new Galra was clearly upset and Lance could see the sting on Keith’s eyes. It was subtle and only just a flash, but it had been there.

Shiro broke the tension, turning to Kolivan to invite them to the control room before dismissing the paladins. Hunk and Pidge headed down to the green lion’s hangar to work in Pidge’s makeshift lab, while Keith and Lance headed back their rooms - both requiring another shower. As they walked alone down the quiet hall, a mirror image of last night, Keith stopped. Pausing mid stride Lance turned to face him “you ok?”

“Why?” He seemed genuinely confused. Confusion and anger were like Keith’s default states. “I don’t get it. I thought we connected in the red lion, I thought we were becoming friends.”

“We already WERE friends you moron” Lance jokingly nudged him “This is our thing isn’t it? ‘Lance & Keith, neck’n neck’!” he made a competitive motion and smiled at Keith who was frowning back. Realizing he just wasn’t getting it Lance continued in a more serious tone “I was just trying to lighten the mood. I wanted you to know that nothing had changed, that I wasn’t going to treat you any differently than before just because of you being Galra.” This seemed to work as Keith’s face softened.

“Wow, and that’s all you could come up with? I thought you were supposed to be ‘the man with the plan’?” He shot back, the bite wasn’t there though. Like in the kitchens, the line wasn’t hostile and Lance just snorted.

“Nah, I’ll leave that to Shiro. Sharpshooter is way cooler”

“If you say so” Lance watched as Keith shrugged the words and disappeared into his room.


	7. Sharing Is Caring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When he came out a minute later Keith was sitting up, still waiting for him. The violet eyes followed him around the room as he continued getting ready for the day. Eventually Keith broke the silence “Can you stop for a sec?” he asked sheepishly “I wanna talk to you before we meet up with the others.” Sensing a serious topic Lance nodded once and moved to sit beside him.  
> “What’s up buddy?”  
> ___________________

Mmmm two hot showers in one morning and a rather eventful breakfast, today was shaping up to be a pretty good day. Lance could feel any remaining sleepiness wash off him as he savoured every moment of that shower. Stepping out he wiped steam off the mirror to re-apply his daily moisturizer and brush his teeth again. Humming along to a song in his head, Lance wrapped a towel around his waist and another around his head before opening the bathroom door and stepping into his room to get dressed.

“Ughh you take forever to get ready” Keith was laying back on Lance’s bed with his feet on the floor, clearly having been sitting there for a while before falling straight backwards.

“KEITH!! Stop appearing out of nowhere.” Lance jumped out of skin and nearly lost his covering. “What are you doing here?!” He asked while fumbling around with the towel, re-affirming the knot he had it tied in. A small chuckle escaped Keith’s throat as he propped himself up on his elbows and caught sight of Lance, still dripping and wearing only a towel around his waist. There was no hiding the blush that hit his cheeks as his eyes immediately widened then shot to the side. _HA!_ Lance thought to himself. Serves you right for breaking into my room. He grabbed his clothes and headed right back in the bathroom, the door closing behind him.

When he came out a minute later Keith was sitting up, still waiting for him. The violet eyes followed him around the room as he continued getting ready for the day. Eventually Keith broke the silence “Can you stop for a sec?” he asked sheepishly “I wanna talk to you before we meet up with the others.” Sensing a serious topic Lance nodded once and moved to sit beside him.

“What’s up buddy?”

Keith took a deep breath and looked up, his violet eyes locking onto Lance’s blue ones. _Wow._ Lance’s breath caught for a moment, before Keith spoke “I would normally go to Shiro to talk about something big like this, but it wasn’t something I could really lean on him for ya know? After everything he went through with the Galra I just … I didn’t know how he would react. He didn’t really take it well at the base, I mean, he tried to hide it but I know him well enough. I could see it in his eyes. I knew he would be strong in-front of the others, and be supportive and all that, but I also knew he needed some time to process it all himself. I just didn’t want to be a burden on him … again.” He paused and looked down at his lap, eyes closed tightly before opening them and continuing “for as long as I can remember he has been there for me. Ever since I was 10 he would look out for me at the Garrison, and stand up for me against my foster homes or Iverson. He always had my back. Then he was taken by the Galra and they cut off his arm and experimented on him. He’s still not ok, I’ve heard him screaming in his sleep sometimes when I walk past for an early training session. He’s terrified of them, he acts strong but he’s scared. He’s my big brother Lance, he’s my big brother and now he knows I’m one of them.” Lance could see the tears behind his eyes again but only for a second before Keith had willed them away.

Lance had always been really intuitive and in touch with emotions, he knew what Keith’s fear was the moment he mentioned his foster homes - plural. It all made sense. His mom left him when he was too young to remember, his dad died when he was just a kid, and he had been bounced around from home to home. He wasn’t scared of being part Galra, he was scared of being rejected and abandoned - again! “He’s not going to abandon you, NONE of us are. We’re all out here together, just some random kids from Earth who happened to get sucked into space in a giant blue robotic cat!” Keith chuckled at that so Lance pressed on “None of this makes any sense man, last year at this time I was fighting in your shadow to even be a pilot, aliens were only in SciFi, and I wasn’t even allowed to have a drink at my cousin’s wedding! Now we are flying around in spaceships, saving the universe, and finding out you are part alien! I don’t think you need to worry too much about it being weird - everything about this is weird.”

Keith lunged across the distance and pulled Lance in a tight hug whispering “Thanks, you’re good friend” into his ear before realizing what he’d done. Shoving Lance back he jumped up and cleared his throat trying to alleviate some of the tension.

Lance just enjoyed the contact. Caught up in his own head for a moment before standing to address Keith. “OK Mullet” Keith rolled his eyes but didn’t protest. “Let’s go meet up with the other humans to help our pointy eared aliens form an alliance with some purple aliens to take down the rest of the purple aliens and save the whole damn universe.” And with that he marched out of his room, Keith groaning at his heels.

 


	8. The Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Ahh Red and Blue! Welcome to the meeting." Coran was energetic as always. Lance smiled at him and turned to look at Allura who was standing next to Shiro - at the opposite end of the table from their new allies.

Instead of heading for the control room, Lance turned left. He wanted to meet up with Pidge and Hunk before bringing Keith anywhere near Allura. He could hear the grumbling behind him about being late and keeping Kolivan waiting but since he kept following, Lance just marched on. Once they rounded the last corner, heading down the hall to the green lion's hangar, Lance caught the two other paladins coming out the door.

"Greetings fellow humans!" He cheered as he ran to them, another groan at his heels. Hunk looked alarmed as his eyes darted from Keith to Lance and back several times before Pidge interjected.

"Speak for yourself; I'm pretty sure I'm a robot."

"Pfft, that sounds about right" Keith chimed in with another joke.

"Who even are you right now??" Lance looked at him with wide eyes and his mouth dragging on the floor but Keith just shrugged and grinned back. Once again Hunk was too pre occupied to notice as he was saying something to Pidge about needing to stop at his room.

"Can we please get a move on? We need to get to the control room." the other paladins looked over at Keith who was starting to get agitated. Lance could tell he wanted to work more closely with the Blades now that he knew about his heritage.

A sudden urge to test the waters overtook him and he couldn’t resist. "I don't know, maybe we should all take a detour to Hunk's room. Wasn't there something you needed to get buddy?" Chancing a sideways glace he managed to catch Keith squeezing the bridge of his nose, squishing his eyes closed, and exhaling loudly. _Point - Lance!_ "Ok, Ok let's go before paladin hothead loses his cool." he nudged Keith a little and turned to head for the control room hearing 3 pairs of footsteps behind him.

As they walked Lance could hear the chatter of various tech nonsense from Pidge and Hunk who had fallen a bit behind. Keith was at his side now, matching pace. "You're a pain in the ass you know that right 'Sharpshooter'?" The final word landing with a distinctly sarcastic tone.

"Yup!" was all that needed to be said.

An eye roll and a huff later they were at the doors of the control room. Well, Keith and Lance were - the other two were still quite a ways down the hall. Turning to his friend, he said softly "do you want to wait for them and go in as a group?" but Lance could see he had built up the nerve and wasn't going to let it falter. Closed off Keith was back.

"Let's just get this over with." And with that the door opened and they entered the control room.

* * *

"Ahh Red and Blue! Welcome to the meeting." Coran was energetic as always. Lance smiled at him and turned to look at Allura who was standing next to Shiro - at the opposite end of the table from their new allies.

Keith walked up and stood beside Allura making her flinch and take a slight step closer to Shiro. He met her cold glare with one of his own, before turning to greet Kolivan and the other Galra, who introduced himself as Antok. Lance admired Keith's determination; he really wasn't going to back down from this.

"... tackled me at the base and took my knife."

 _Oh shit!_ Keith was talking to him. Lance debated just nodding in agreement but decided honesty was better "Dude I have no idea what you just said. I was not listening at all!" As predicted Keith just rolled his eyes and didn't bother repeating himself. The door opened as the two slow pokes caught up to them, still jabbering away between themselves.

Introductions were exchanged and ideas were thrown around. Every-time Keith suggested something Allura would either shut it down or flat out ignore it. Lance could tell he was becoming increasingly frustrated until he just stopped contributing altogether. Kolivan, Antok, Coran, Allura, and Shiro ended up dominating the discussion, leaving the 4 other paladins bored.

Keith stood by the group listening intently to the plans being hatched. Pidge mumbled something about her laptop and sank into a corner typing away. Hunk sat in his chair and instantly fell asleep, drool spilling from the corner of his mouth as his head slumped over his shoulder. And Lance went to stand beside Keith, if he was being ignored then they would be ignored together.

After about 3 vargas they had settled on plan that everyone agreed would work. Pidge took it upon herself to wake Hunk and everyone's assignments were handed out. With the help of their new allies they were going to take down Zarkon once and for all.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap! This is where Episode 9: The Belly of the Weblum takes over.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [I'm Here For You](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18224033) by [KarsKars](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KarsKars/pseuds/KarsKars)




End file.
